A recent patent application from South Korean tech giant Samsung reveals that the company has an ambitious idea of creating a foldable phone. Although flip phones are considered to be a technological leap of the older generation, Samsung is looking to revive this idea probably as part of its effort to bounce back following the massive decline of sales that was precipitated by exploding battery packs.

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Samsung's patent application reveals a smartphone that can bend and fold, just like an old-school flip phone. However, instead of having separate segments for the screen and the physical keyboard, Samsung is planning to do it using a body composed of just a single segment.

Based on the patent, the device can be folded or unfolded semi-automatically. The patent also describes a secondary display which is supposed to be activated once the device is folded, according to The Verge.

Samsung has allegedly been working on this bendable display technology for quite some time already. The initiative is known internally as Project Valley. To corroborate the recently leaked patent, Samsung unveiled an OLED panel that could be rolled during the SID Display Week in May.

The idea for bendable or foldable devices started when Lenovo displayed a prototype of a bendable "wrist phone" in June, according to Phone Arena. The idea was initially dismissed by the tech community as no display technology during that time would have been able to deliver the required flexibility.

Some rumors suggest that Samsung's foldable phone should be ready by the second half of 2017. Samsung has yet to confirm nor deny these rumors.